Haffina Creations

Lust Have It June 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 01:24:00 +0000

Welcome to my blog post about my June 2014 Lust Have It beauty box unboxing. I realise we are near the end of July, but if you watch my Youtube channel you will know that I tend to receive my LHI boxes in the month after they are released. For some reason their boxes take two weeks at least from the time they are delivered to reach me. This is actually very strange, as they are sent via Australia Post and even via road mail they shouldn't take that long.
Anyway.
I had started doing a battle of the boxes on my Youtube channel (the first one was the May LHI versus the June Bellabox and June Violet Box) and had held off on unboxing my June LHI to do the next battle, however the Bellabox and Violet Box for July are both late (at the time of this post I still don't have them) so I decided to open the June LHI and wait for the July LHI to do the next battle.
Which is a really long way of getting to the point of this blog post.
The box.
Lust Have It is an Australian beauty box subscription service that costs $19.95 per month (less if you pay for a whole year). You receive around 5 products, some sample size, some deluxe sample (which just means a bigger sample/travel size) and some full size.
You can join here - http://bit.ly/1pmqAOV - if you use this link I get reward points.
Or you can just go to - http://www.lusthaveit.com.au/home/ - and join that way.
Each box comes with a card telling you about your items and listing their RRP for a full size version. They also list where you can buy the item if you decide you like it enough to purchase.

So here is how the Lust Have It box (ummm.... bag) arrives. Lustre is the name of LHI's ezine. The bag is fairly decent quality plastic, good for putting a few items in to throw in your handbag so they don't get make-up goop on everything else.

This is the card out of my box. As you can see there are 5 items. On the back of the card is a coupon code to get $20 of the new Lust Have It! brush set.

Next we have this $30 voucher to Hello Fresh. Unfortunately they only deliver to the mainland Eastern States of Australia, which means it is useless for me.

Then we have two 2mL Nuxe Paris samples in foil packets. Not a huge fan of the foil packet samples. One is an eye cream, the other a face cream. I will probably use them, but the sample is far too small to determine if you like a product enough to actually buy it or to find out if it actually works. The eye cream is $44.95 for 15ml (making this sample worth $5.99), the face cream is $49.95 for 50mL (making the sample worth $2). Obviously Nuxe is a 'prestige' brand.

Next we have the items from the box that pissed me off. Orly toe spreaders and mini files. Both of these items are given away for free if you buy two mini Orly polishes. It is frankly a shitty thing to include in a subscription box. The files are also fairly rough, rougher than I use on my nails. The toe spreaders are worth $4.95 and the files are less that $2. You can get Manicure's gel toe spreaders for less from Priceline.

Next we have the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo. This is a 3mL sample. This product is $27.95 for 40mL (making this sample worth $2.10). I have received this product before in a different subscription box. It is a pretty nice product, although I haven't used it enough to know how well it works over time. Again, a teeny sample, but at least it isn't in a foil packet!

Now we come to one of two full size products in this month's box. This is the John Plunkett Glyco Peel with 25% Glycolic Acid. It retails for $29.95 for 15mL. This more than covers the cost of the box. I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm not sure how 'strong' it is, but I will probably follow the directions for sensitive skin when I do.

The last item is this Teeez Trendy Cosmetics Nail Lacquer in Atomic Dragonfly. It retails for $18. I am not entirely convinced that I would be prepared to pay that much for this particular nail polish.

I do love the wide brush, but I did find it a bit streaky. The colour is quite nice, but not unique or that different from colours available from other brands for less.

All in all this box is an improvement over the last couple of months. The combined value of the box was just shy of $65, which isn't too bad for a $19.95 price tag. I would probably have been happier if there was more cosmetics and less skin care, but that is a personal preference.
If you are interested here is my Youtube video on this bag/box.

*All opinions are my own. I pay for this subscription from my own funds. I am not being paid to promote Lust Have It.

Mini Maybelline Haul

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 21:23:00 +0000

Recently I made a purchase through Ozsale.com.au (which is an Australian site that has sales on items from household goods to clothing to beauty items). A lot of the things I buy are make up, and the prices are amazing. Sometimes the products are discontinued or overruns, and often they come from the US or the UK. Often times they are products that we can't actually get in Australia, and even if we could the prices would be ridiculous.

So today's post is going to be part of one of my recent buys. Some sales are multi brand, so I decided to break it up into brands to do these posts. Today it will be some Maybelline products.

First up we have the Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Fierce and Tangy.

This is a lovely orange, not a colour I normally pick, but I have worn this and it was pretty nice. These are around the $12 mark here in Australia, only you won't find this colour from what I have seen. You can get it in the US for around $6. However I only paid $2 for it via Ozsale. It is drying out a bit, but is still very usable.

Next we have two Color Sensational Lip glosses (not to be confused with the Colour Sensational High Shine Gloss).

You cannot get these in Australia, you can only get the High Shine Gloss for around $8. However they are up on the US version of the Maybelline website for about $6.50. I paid $3 each for these. The two colours are Wine All Mine and Sugared Honey. They are fairly sheer, but not really sticky. They don't last a huge amount of time, but would be great just to slick on when you are running to the shops.

Next up we have three nail polishes from the Colorama range. These are really only available on Ebay and places like that. They are discontinued but they are nail polish!

So we have Icing Sugar, which is a nude shade, a bit on the streaky side even after two coats. Then we have Wonder Violet, absolutely gorgeous purple with a blue shift. And lastly we have Berry Sweet, which is a pink based berry red. I quite like the consistency and they don't smell awful. They dry fairly quickly (although not quickly enough judging by the ding in the last photo) and are nicely shiny even without a top coat. I paid $2 for Wonder Violet and $2 for the other two together (they came in a pack.) They were originally around $5 or $6 each.

If you live in Australia I would really recommend that you check out Ozsale.com.au for yourself. Shipping is $9.95 for each order, but if you make multiple orders at the same time you will often get a discount on that price for orders after the first one. (Did that make any sense?) They don't only do beauty stuff, you can get some great bargains on clothes, candles, toys and gadgets and they have new sales starting every day.

*Opinions in this blog post are mine and mine alone. I do not receive anything from Ozsale for this post. All items were purchased by me.

PTSD and life

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 15:26:00 +0000

Every day I live my life with the spectre of PTSD hanging over my head. Living probably isn't really the right word. More like existing. It is hard to live, really live, when hidden triggers are hiding behind every corner.
It becomes hard to leave my haven, my safe place. And sometimes even my safe place is overrun with triggers. I no longer watch the news. Every time I hear about some child who has been abused, or how some celebrity is actually a pedophile, or how a church covered up abuse, or one of a myriad of similar stories, I feel it. It is like a physical pain. My heart starts to race, adrenalin flows through my body, my stomach churns, I start to shake and twitch. If you are watching me you might notice me taking deep breaths and letting them out slowly, or me twirling a pen in my hands violently, or my leg bouncing up and down.
You won't see me ripping my hair out, or screaming, or rocking back and forth wailing.
I will hide my feelings, my reactions, as much as possible. I will protect those around me as much as I can, whilst my insides twist and turn and rip themselves to shreds. Years of hiding my fear and distaste from my abuser taught me how to look calm on the outside even when you are terrified.
Currently things are really hard. There has been a flood of media about child abuse, pedophilia and all the things associated with it. I don't watch the news, but sometimes other people in my house will and my ears will hear things. It has come to the point where as soon as I hear the opening bars of the news I stick my ipod on and drown out the sound. It is hard enough just having random attacks, without subjecting myself to known triggers.
And that is where it is really awful.
I will be sitting there, farming on Farmville, totally relaxed, calm and then BAM! Adrenalin floods my system and an anxiety attack ensues. Out of nowhere. Many people think the anxiety and panic attacks occur only due to triggers, like a stressful situation, but sometimes they happen when you least expect them, when there is nothing 'unsafe' going on. And that is the hell. Not only to you have to aware of triggers, but also you have to be aware that any time, night or day, you can descend into your own personal hell for no reason at all.
I am, frankly, quite sick of my personal hell.
I don't want to have PTSD.
I don't want to have depression.
I don't want to have anxiety and panic attacks.
I want to be able to walk down the street and not see the face of my abuser in every old man.
I want to be able to go to bed at night and fall asleep.
I want to be able to sleep without reliving the horrors of my abuse.
I want it all to not have happened.
I want to have been protected.

You don't always get what you want.

I'm Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 May 2014 09:41:00 +0000

Hey guys!
Just over a year ago I pretty much walked away from this blog. My mental health was in major decline, I had effectively stopped participating in my usual online pursuits, ie selling, handmade etc.
After a while I blogged a bit on Glipho, mainly about nail stuff. Then I started a youtube channel, mainly about beauty stuff, with the intention of eventually doing tutorials in a range of different areas such as beading, nail art and miniatures. If you have any interest in that you can find me here - https://www.youtube.com/user/Haffina

Last night I was in bed and I started to think about this blog and I realised I really wanted to revive it. I really wanted to revive Haffina Creations itself. My creative self is such a huge part of who I am and it has taken a huge battering over the last few years.

So I am back. The content of this blog will almost certainly be different from what it was before, with a lot more focus on beauty and nails, as this is the area that has taken the major part of my focus. I am even contemplating studying to be a nail technician or beautician, or both. I completely understand if some of my readers decide it is time to move on themselves, not everyone cares about the latest make up products or how to paint cows on your finger nails. There will still be some jewellery/chainmaille type stuff, and there will still be some polymer clay stuff, but they won't be the main focus anymore.

I'm very grateful to those who have hung in there, and I really hope I can rely on you for you continued support as I travel on this next leg of my life journey.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

And the winner is..

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:30:00 +0000

And we have a winner in the February Plurkie Challenge... well actually we have two winners! That's right, we have a tie between Rhiannon and Haffina! Congrats.

We also have our theme for March which is... LUCK.

To be involved you will need a few simple things:

1) Be a plurkie. If you don't know what that is then you probably aren't one, but we can change that ;)

2) Create something with the theme of Luck. It can be anything, a poem, a picture, a photograph, a sculpture, a piece of jewellery.. anything.. as long as you made it yourself.

3) Send me a copy/image of your piece here along with a few words about it's story by March 25th.

Entries will be blogged here by March 27th with a poll. Winner and next theme will be announced March 31st! Join in, have fun and let's see who gets lucky!

Plurkie Challenge February

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:20:00 +0000

The time has come to share with you all the wonderful creations for the February Plurkie Challenge. We did struggle a little to get entries this month, but with a slight extension we do have entries! So let's get to it.

The theme for February was love, and that means different things to different people.

Here are our entries:

Our first entry is from Rhiannon -

A little Cthulhu holding a heart might not seem like the best representation of love. A tiny soul-sucking elder who lies dreaming in the abyss isn't very romantic sounding. Yet, this little chibi creation was created out of love. My boyfriend of nine years absolutely loves HP Lovecraft and his Cthulhu style creations. So much that he encouraged me to make a few miniature Cthulhus as holiday gifts. So was born the Santa Cthulhu. Then, other friends started to request variations and pretty soon, several little Cthulhus were born. In the midst of that, I created Valentine Cthulhu for my boyfriend. I took his love of Cthulhu, my love of sculpting and our love together to create this little unworldly creature. Even sea gods need love.

Next we have Charlotte -

Over the last 3 months I have been majorly decluttering my home while dealing with social services over my hoarder--like tendencies. During this time my friend Mary has been by my side, emotionally and literally, stepping in where my mother has been unable to because she is half a planet away. Mary has insisted she needs no payment but to know she is helping me get better and to improve the life of my family. We met at our local knitting group but i have been sewing a lot lately and thought i would try my hand at project bags. This fabric with it's cabbages and roses immediately brought Mary to mind - she is a gardener who loves to make brightly coloured dolls for her friends and extensive family. So while this bag does not scream love in red hearts and sticky chocolates (which Mary is allergic to), it was made with love for a very dear friend.

Next we have Annie -

I made this for my husband :) This is a Dr. Seuss quote and some wedding pictures. It's framed in my house.

And last, but by no means least, we have Jenn aka Haffina (yes me, that's right).

I made this piece with this challenge in mind, hence the little heart detail. I love to make miniature jewellery and I love St Petersburg chain (which is the stitch used). So this is a piece just full of love.

So there we have our entries. There will be a poll up on the right side of the blog for you to vote for your favourite. There will only be a short time to vote, the end of February looms large. So voting will close on my birthday (yes, 28 Feb), but I will aim for a US timeframe :)

Vote and promote, and remember to check back for the results and next month's theme in a few days.

And we have a winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 04:33:00 +0000

The time has come to announce the winner in the first ever Plurkie Challenge! Drum roll please.......

I am super pleased to announced the winner is... Athena!

Her beautifully penned words spoke to many and lead her to sashay over the finish line with her Plurkie Pals at her heels. Congratulations Athena! Adulation and Admiration are just around the corner. ;-p As an added extra you will also get to choose the theme for March's challenge - woot. Oh and I think Teri said something about cookies......?

And now we come to the second announcement... the theme for February. I know it's a bit cliqued, but for February there really is only one theme... LOVE. Remember that love is different for everyone, so we could get some really interesting results.

To be involved you will need a few simple things:

1) Be a plurkie. If you don't know what that is then you probably aren't one, but we can change that ;)

2) Create something with the theme of Love. It can be anything, a poem, a picture, a photograph, a sculpture, a piece of jewellery.. anything.. as long as you made it yourself.

3) Send me a copy/image of your piece here along with a few words about it's story by February 21st (short month, shorter deadline).

Entries will be blogged here by February 23rd with a poll. Winner and next theme will be announced February 28th (my birthday)! Join in, have fun and let the lurve flow!

Plurkie Challenge January

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 02:06:00 +0000

Hey peeps, the time has arrived. The first Plurkie Challenge, with the theme Hope, has reached it's climax and the time for voting is upon us. We have a few entries, not as many as we would have liked, but congratulations and well done to those who were able to be involved.

So let's get to the entries!

First up we have Athena who has penned this great verse:

Next we have Amy who has crocheted this awesome beanie with a great message of hope.
"I decided to make this hat after hearing the theme Hope because not only was I filling in for a woman at work who was dealing with breast cancer (this hat is for her!) but a close friend who started my Handmade Louisiana team fought breast cancer a few years ago (and won!) and now another handmade mommy friend is currently in treatment. So many women, all over, everywhere. Cancer sucks. So I decided to make this beanie for the co-workers return to soon (this week I'm told!) Women everywhere should have HOPE to beat breast cancer!"

Next up is Teri, who has hand painted this amazing silk scarf.
"I've named it "Lady Slippers of Hope". It's a Prayer Shawl that I have painted for my cousin. Lady Slippers are the state flower, and grow in dark, mossy places. Little spots of brightness in the dark. They are also rare, like hope can be sometimes, but when it's found, it's a precious gift, to leave in place so others can find it when they need it. (Okay, actually, it's a crime to pick Lady Slippers, since they are on the endangered plants list....)"

Next up is Katie, who has created gorgeous earrings.
"Springtime always makes me feel hopeful with the new buds and blooms of color fighting their way through the gloomy end of winter so I made these earrings. I guess they could be called "Garden of Hope""

And lastly, but by no means least, we have Deb with a twist on an established favourite.
"For over a year, I’ve been making and offering these Post Earrings made with Raw Diamond using wire wrap method that I’ve designed and perfected myself, and they’ve been selling steadily to friends and fans all over the world. But as the supply cost surged, suppliers dwiddles, materials are getting more and more difficult to work with, and to justify the cost of materials and time, I was on the verge of giving up making these all together!

Until someone asked me to make a few without the use of Raw Diamond.... And these had been extremely well received from the few days that I’ve posted them online!

So here’s to hoping! That these new alternative use of materials will open another door and many more possibilities for my shop for the coming year!"

So there we have it! Five great entries from five lovely ladies. Thank you to you all for being involved. A poll will be up on the side of the blog so you can vote for your favourite. The winner will be announced January 30th, along with the theme for February, so stay tuned!

OOps, I did it again!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:10:00 +0000

Oh dear, I really fell off the blogging radar this time. I cannot believe it has been two and a half months since I last blogged!
I guess I had a reason in November doing the NaNoWriMo, which I am pleased to report I finished successfully. It wasn't the world's best piece of literature, but it was never intended to be.
December was full of family orientated activity, mostly due to my brood having school holidays that drag on for 7 weeks! They aren't quite over yet either.

So here we are, half way through January 2013. I'm still at the point of having to stop and think when writing the year down. I should be right by the time school goes back at the end of the month.

There are some interesting things in the works for 2013 too, including the brand new Plurkie Monthly Challenge. This is a challenge I am running for my friends on the social networking site, Plurk. Plurk is like a cross between Messenger and Twitter, and is in my opinion the best site for making really good friends.
The challenge has the theme Hope and participants are allowed to do whatever they want, as long as it fits the theme. They could write a song or poem or story, or making something, like a drawing or jewellery or sculpture. If it has a form that can be copied/photographed for sharing then it qualifies. Someone could make a cake that represents hope and send in a picture and that would count.
I specifically made it really broad because I have friends on Plurk in a wide range of different industries with many different talents and I didn't want any of them to feel they couldn't be involved.

I will be blogging the entries here just before the end of the month with a poll for people to vote for the winner. At this stage there isn't a prize up for grabs, other than the adoration and adulation of their peers!

I am going to do my best to get back on the blogging bandwagon, bringing you an insight into my hectic life, my creations and other things that inspire me. Please stay tuned.

Bring it on!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:56:00 +0000

October's fat lady is out and warming her larynx ready to do her finale and it is time to reflect on a month that promised quite a bit and did a brilliant job of failing to deliver.

My photoaday efforts tanked fairly on in the month and everything else pretty much got sucked down with it. I'm not terribly impressed with myself, but one cannot be perfect all the time! It was a challenging month in other ways which culminating in our 8 person household being floored by a nasty gastro bug over the course of about 5 days. Normally after these types of things people bounce back within a day or two... but not with this one. I can honestly say that 5 days after I was first afflicted I am only just starting to feel 'normal' again. (Normal is a relative term and in no way suggests that I think for one minute that I will ever be conventionally normal...ever.)

So November looms large and brings with it a huge mountain of possibility and opportunity (including opportunity to crash and burn in spectacular fashion).

For the first time ever (how is this possible?) I am attempting NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writer's Month for those not in the know. It is a yearly 'event' where writers of all levels attempt to pen a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. This equates to approx 1667 words a day (for those that care for those types of things). Thankfully the challenge is not to write a brilliant, grammatically perfect, wonderfully crafted piece of prose. It is about quantity, not quality... which pretty much goes against the grain for me, and for many others. The idea is to free yourself from constraint, let the words flow, let it lead you where it will. I have no idea how I will go, but the journey is going to be interesting.

I am also getting back on the FMSphotoaday bandwagon, created by FatMumSlim. Just that little moment of creativity every day was a huge help to my overall wellbeing so I need to get back there.

Added to the above is the every looming spectre of the Silly Season. Presents to buy, cards to write, special handmade gifts to create. We are also being to plan some renovations for our new home.

So no pressure, no stress....... o.0

I hope you will join me over the coming month as I battle my self inflicted challenges, I'm thinking it will be a doozy!

Depression

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:45:00 +0000

Some days I really wonder what the fuck is going on within my brain. Everything will seem ok, and then ‘wham’, I am hit with this enormous urge to cry, vomit, scream, run, hide and cease to exist. And it makes me feel so horrible when things are going so well in general terms. We have a great house, our family is together, our kids are growing and the future looks pretty bright from where I am standing. And yet I feel like crappola. The second my anxiety levels or adrenalin levels start to rise I descend into a pit of hell internally.

It is incredibly hard to explain it to others, especially when I barely understand it myself. I have this excess of intelligence, but it is no match for the irrationality and incomprehensibility of depression and anxiety. I have finally made a breakthrough that may well be the doorway to a new way of dealing with this monster. I finally realised that my depression is not a symptom of the condition of my life, but a condition of its own, an illness. None of us ever think that someone who is struck down by cancer is done so because they have a sad life, or a painful life or a traumatic life. We acknowledge that it is something that just happens to some people, regardless of economics, social level, nationality, intelligence, religion etc etc. And yet there is this thought that depression only strikes those with bad things going on in their lives. Sure, bad things can be a trigger, like mary jane can be a trigger for schizophrenia, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who is afflicted has a trigger.

Depression and anxiety often has a genetic component, some people are more likely to suffer from it or be predisposed to it. It is a brain disorder, an imbalance. It can be managed, both with medication and with other therapies, like many disorders and illnesses. But our acceptance, our understanding of the disorder is coloured by the idea that it is just an excuse used by people to be lazy or weird, or that is just a made up thing. People with mental illness are looked down on, like they are tainted, unclean, the work of the devil, a danger to society etc etc.

But we are not.

Many of us are productive members of society, contribute time, intelligence, ideas and abilities to a range of industries and organisations. We are parents, and children, and partners, carers and loved ones. We are sportsmen and women, actors, businessmen and women, soldiers, bus drivers, teachers, artists... in every walk of life there are those who are afflicted with depression. We aren’t expecting to be moddy-coddled or cosseted, we don’t want pity... we want acceptance, compassion, empathy. We want to feel like we can talk about depression, anxiety, bi-polar, PTSD and all the other variables without judgement, intolerance or fear.

Depression is a hidden disorder because most people just don’t want to know.

But there are those who care. There are those who want to help, who put themselves out there to help those of us afflicted. And on the whole they are undersupported by the government. Their funding is cut by bean counters with no compassion, no interest in the lives of those affected, who think we just need to talk to someone for a couple of months and everything will be just fine. They fall in the ‘you should just put it behind you and move on’ brigade. Depression is not like a bag that you just chuck in the bin. It’s more like losing a limb... you are never quite the same again.

Some may be quite upset at the idea of me comparing depression to losing a limb, might think I am over exaggerating the impact, the severity of the disorder. I’m not. It affects every aspect of your life, things you used to do with ease you can no longer do, or they take considerably longer or more effort. People don’t look at you the same way once they know, you don’t feel normal anymore. People pity you, or worse, ignore you. And you spend a lot of time wishing you were normal, that you hadn’t changed.

But you can’t go back.

Even if you get to the point where you are in control of your depression, have it well managed, some might even say ‘cured’, even then you are still different. Because you have experienced something that not everyone experiences, it never leaves you. And for some it is a permanent illness. They can learn to manage it, but it will never completely go away. You can live with it, but it always sitting there in the background like a shadow waiting for an opportunity to raise its ugly head and mess with you some more.

I don’t know one person with depression who actually would choose to have it. It isn’t a choice. But there is a choice to deal with it or not. There is a choice to be proactive and seek help. It isn’t an easy step to take, to admit you need help, especially when you fear that others will consider you weak, or lazy or stupid. But professional help is the only real way to get a handle on the disorder, the only real way to move forward. And it takes work. Lots and lots of work. And you will make mistakes, and you will feel worse at times. But eventually you get to a point where you realise that you can move forward even with depression, that it is ok to be mentally ill, that it doesn’t make you a bad person, or a lazy person, or a stupid person.

Then depression becomes like your conscience, poking you when you aren’t being kind to yourself, kicking you when you don’t look after yourself, slamming you when you deny it exists. It keeps you honest. And when you get to that point, when you embrace this part of yourself you begin to see that there is hope, there is a future, there is a way to live with depression that isn’t dark, scary and painful. It doesn’t go away, but it no longer controls you.

Photoaday Sept 25 to 30

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 07:45:00 +0000

Another month is behind us, and Christmas is creeping ever closer! Egads!
But before we turn our minds in that direction, let's wrap up the Photoaday challenge for September (created by the wonderful FatMumSlim).

Day 25 - Frame. This is the frame of an enormous mirror my mum has had for years. Gorgeous, and incredibly heavy!

Day 26 - Near. I was playing around with my LittleBigShot macro lens and got this great picture of a tiny little flower bud on a very neglected cactus.

Day 27 - Love/Hate. I bought this new nail polish, very cheap. And there was a reason it was soooo cheap..it stinks really really really bad! Think of sticking a permanent marker inside up your nose. Horrible horrible horrible. But I love love love the colour!

Day 28 - Errand. Well, it is more my errand list, but close enough. LazyMeter.com rocks!

Day 29 - A good thing. Yes, I really think it is a good thing.

Day 30 - You, then. This was me back in the day... I'm probably around 2. Not really sure what happened to me!

So September is over. And October has started, along with another Photoaday challenge brought to you by FatMumSlim. Join in, its great fun and it doesn't cost anything!

Photoaday Sept 13 - 24

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:27:00 +0000

Wow, I have been really slack! Well, no, not really... it has been a difficult week for me. My PTSD has been playing merry hell with my brain. Nevertheless I have managed to take a photo for each day, even if it took me a couple of days! Let's get to it!

Day 13 - Table. There is a table there, under all the mess!

Day 14 - Favourite.. as in my favourite colour... purple!

Day 15 - First thing I see... my man.

Day 16 - Strange. This is a Monster High Ghoulia doll that I am turning into an alien. Her eyes are painted black, hence why this shot looks like she has holes in her head.

Day 17 - In my fridge. For some reason my sons insist on putting the Vegemite in the fridge.... *annoyed*

Day 18 - Price. Calfornia 37 album by Train... I would have paid full price. Absolutely LOVE this album.

Day 19 - Underneath. Lots of underneaths.

Day 20 - Man-made. Actually these were woman made... but close enough.

Day 21 - Sometimes.. a glass of water is all you need.

Day 22 - Up. Up above my desk.

Day 23 - Before Bedtime. Most nights I play a little nintendo before I go to sleep. Love my big fat pen stylus.

Day 24 - Three things. Three random items that happened to be sitting together. On another note, today would have been my gpa's 96th birthday. I miss him.

As we near the end of the month, our thoughts turn to next month. FatMumSlim has the list up for October on her site and on facebook, so if you want to join in next month check it out!

Photo A Day Sept 6 - 12

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:35:00 +0000

I have returned! I'm not having the best time offline, and it is showing online with a distinct lack of activity. I have however managed to keep up with my Photoaday challenge, although I was 24 hours late with day 11. So let's have a look at what I covered in the last week.

Day 6 - Every Day. Plurk is somewhere I go every day. I love the friends I have made there and the support they have given me.

Day 7 - Natural. Natural nails, for a change.

Day 8 - At Night. My mum's cute dog at night.. slightly less cute and more demon! LOL

Day 9 - Something I do most weekends... staring at my keyboard! This was also the 17th birthday of my twins... not sure where 17 years went.

Day 10 - Black + White. Herringbone spiral and Snowflake Obsidian.

Day 11 - Hero. Ok, this is a doll of mine, but the dogtags and the camo are indicative of some of our world's biggest and most underappreciated heroes.

Day 12 - Together. Me and my coffee... together forever!

Join me next time to see more.

Photo A Day Sept 1 - 5

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:23:00 +0000

Another month has begun, and another Photoaday challenge has also started, thanks to FatMumSlim. I have jumped on board again this month, and I also managed to drag a few of my buddies along with me. A couple of my friends in America have been inspired to join in, as well as a lovely lady from Germany. I love that such a simple idea is helping us creative types find another outlet for our talents.

So here are my first images for September!

Day 1 - You, now. I look tired!

Day 2 - Father. September 2nd was Father's Day here in Australia, and this is what Father's Day looks like in our house... 5 kids.. one dad... muhahahaha.
On a sad note, this was the first Father's Day since my gpa died. A hard day for my Mum.

Day 3 - Far Away. The view from our backyard.. pretty awesome how far you can see on a fine day.

Day 4 - In Your Mailbox. This is what was in our mailbox.... no letters, no bills.. just catalogues!

Day 5 - Bright. This was one of the only bright spots in the sky today. It was cold, wet and windy.

Off to a great start I would say. Cannot wait to see what the rest of the month brings.

Photo A Day August Days 29 - 31

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:17:00 +0000

Here we are at the end... of August. Here are the last three photos for the Photo A Day challenge from FatMumSlim.

Day 29 - Down. This is one of my sons. He, like me, suffers from depression.

Day 30 - Card. These are actually my file cards that I use to record the materials used in my creations. Had a bit of fun with this one in Picasa.

Day 31 - Hidden. Somewhere under here is a chair!

This has been a really great creative journey, and I'm really glad I stuck it out. If you are interested in joining in for September you can find all the info here.

Photo A Day August - Days 24 to 28

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 02:11:00 +0000

We are nearing the end of August and for the first time ever with one of these challenges I have managed to actually keep up with it. I am so proud of myself! Considering how sick I have been this past month, and all the offline stuff I have been contending with, this is really quite amazing.

I am already on board for next months challenge by FatMumSlim, but before we get there.. the penultimate August selection.

Day 24 - Path. This is right outside our place.. yes we need to mow the lawn!

Day 25 - Fresh. Fresh coffee, mmmmmmmm

Day 26 - Dream. Just a little pencil scrawl with a bit of Picasa artistry.

Day 27 - Tap. A bit of Cross Process in Picasa (to hide any icky bits that might have been on my sink!)

Day 28 - Clock. This ended up way artier than intended after I had to crop some 'stuff' out! LOL

Only three days left! Join me next time for the wrap up of August.

Photo A Day August - Days 17-23

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 12:37:00 +0000

Ooops.. a few more days than I intended! My only excuse is having a hectic offline schedule.. how is it that I am more busy now that my kids are older than I ever was when they were actually reliant on me for their every need?

Anyway, I have been keeping up with the Photo A Day challenge by FatMumSlim and I have been impressed with some of the photos I've managed to produce (with the help of Picasa at times).

So here we go!

Day 17 - Faces. Five of my gorgeous Monster High girls.

Day 18 - Inside. Really love how this shot came out.

Day 19 - Hole. I love the colours in this and the composition.

Day 20 - Today. The result of reducing 9 folders of 'stuff' down to 4... progress.

Day 21 - Cool. Nail art that was meant to evoke the feeling of clouds or snow.

Day 22 - Home. That would be my front door and a glimpse of the front hall.

Day 23 - Pair. My two Clawdeen dolls, they make a cute pair.

Just over a week to go of this month. I am certainly considering continuing on with this next month. I think it is a great way to do at least something creative every day.

Photo A Day Challenge - Days 13 - 16

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 00:52:00 +0000

I am back again with another installment of my efforts in FatMumSlim's photo a day challenge for August. I've had an awfully hectic week but have made a special effort to take a photo especially for the challenge each day, even if its the only creative thing I've managed to squeeze into my day.

So let's get to it.

Day 13 - Simple. It was a simple idea (letters out of catalogues) that got a bit more complicated once I started playing in Picasa!

Day 14 - Arrow. Featuring arrows on one of our moving boxes that is still residing in our garage!

Day 15 - Ready. Yes, its a red E... get it? I know, I'm a smart alec!

Day 16 - Food. A shot of the inside of our pantry.. well, part of it.. it was too big to get in one shot!

So we are half way through the month, what will the second half bring? You will have to stay tuned!

Whoops, I did it again!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:36:00 +0000

I completely forgot to blog about my challenges. And the truth of the matter is that I dropped my personal challenge, whilst continuing on with the Photo A Day challenge from FatMumSlim.
It's probably a bit bad of me to drop my own challenge, but in the end I was focussing more on the Photoaday than I was on it anyway.
So here are the last few photos from the Photoaday challenge.

Day 7 - 8 o'clock. I played around a bit with this one in Picasa

Day 8 - Glasses. Interpretation is everything!

Day 9 - Messy. Yes that is my work area, yes it really is that messy, no you can't make messy look good!

Day 10 - Ring. Again this one had attention in Picasa. It was a pretty bad photo taken late in the day when I was in a hurry. This would be the day I finally decided to drop my own challenge (not that I made the previous days fit my challenge).

Day 11 - Purple. Ah, an idea made just for me! A lovely purple, sparkly, ombre manicure. Not that I needed a reason to redo my nails, but I'll take any excuse!

Day 12 - Spoon. Again its all in the interpretation. I could have taken a picture of cutlery, but that isn't nearly as much fun!

So I may not have stuck to my original plan at the start of the month, but I am really enjoying the Photo a day challenge!

Photo A Day and Personal Challenge - A, V and Q

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:48:00 +0000

I am back again with the next three days of my personal 26 day challenge and the Photo A Day challenge initiated by FatMumSlim.

Day 4, Somewhere you sat and the Letter A (for angle). This is the corner of the chair I sit on every day in front of the computer.

Day 5, Logo and the Letter V (for vanity). Obviously this is my logo, which is a bit vain of me, but what else would I have chosen? XD

Day 6, Writing and the Letter Q (for question). I had a bit of fun playing with my cool macro lens from LittleBigShot and a 60's effect in Picasa.

The next three letters for my personal challenge are B, L and S.
Join me in three days to see what I come up with.

Personal Challenge - G, P and J

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 05:04:00 +0000

This is my first blog for my personal 26 day challenge. I of course had to make it a bit more challenging so I'm combining it with FatMumSlim's monthly Photo A Day challenge.
If you remember from my last post I picked 3 letters to start off with and I have used them to give an extra angle to the Photo A Day list.
And here are my photos.

Day 1 - Letter: G, Photoadayaug: Outside = Galaxy nails, can't get much more 'outside' than that!

Day 2 - Letter: P, Photoadayaug: One = One eye of our one Pet, Tilly (she's a miniature fox terrier if you were wondering)

Day 3 = Letter: J, Photoadayaug: Coin = 1913 Coin from Jersey (as in the one off the coast of Normandy)

I have to say I am really enjoying doing this. I don't seem to be accomplishing much else, but this is really quite fun.

My next three letters are A, Q and V. I'd love to hear your feedback or for you to join me and have a bit of fun as well. See you in few days.

26 Day Challenge - Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 06:39:00 +0000

Today is day one of my 26 day Alphabet challenge. As usual I am behind the eight-ball and totally not prepared!
Nevertheless I will soldier on.

I have decided to pick the letters a few days in advance and allow a bit of room to move so to speak.

So the first three letters are G, J and P. If you are joining me, feel free to use the letters in any order you like, and do them all in blog if you find it hard to blog every day.

I am currently working on my G. So keep a look out for that!

26 Day Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 12:59:00 +0000

Originally posted to Tumblr

August 1st I start my 26 day challenge and I am inviting everyone who wants to to join me.

26 days sounds like a weird number, but really it isn’t, because it is an Alphabet challenge.

Every day for 26 days I will pick a letter of the alphabet. And then the fun begins…

The challenge is to ‘create’ something that fits the letter of the day. It can be art, or science, or music, or a story, or food… anything! Take a photo, post it to a blog, or twitter, or facebook.. anywhere! Include a quick blurb and let me know.

There is even a cool sweetener!

If you join in you could win a cool handmade gift from me. It could be jewellery, polymer clay or maybe even a customised doll! Just know that it will be one of a kind, no one else will have anything exactly like it.. and all just because you had a bit of fun.

There is a catch (isn’t there always?!), in order to know the letter of the day you are going to have to follow me :P You can find me all over the place, twitter, facebook, plurk, and of course here on Tumblr.

Join me, have some fun and maybe you might connect with some really interesting and awesome folk!

Decking out the Dolls

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 10:30:00 +0000

During March, whilst attempting my Motivation Challenge, I repainted several dolls. Then they sat around gazing plaintively at me waiting to be dressed and tittivated.
I had wanted to make most of them clothing sets, but this is something of an issue, as I am not the best sewer in the world. In the end I delved through my collection of dolls clothes to see if anything would work out.
One of the girls I shared with you during March, although at that time she didn't have a name, which she now does.

This is Emmaline, my Sweet Goth girl.

This gorgeous girl is Gwen (which happens to be my late gma's name as well).

Next we have Tess, totally sweet and girly.

Then comes Jessie, tree climbing tomboy with a girly streak.

Anastasia comes next. She is the 'girl next door', casual but cool.

Beach Girl Lani is next. Give her sunshine and fresh air and she is happy.

Glamorous Thea glides through next. You would never see her without heels and her hair done.

Lastly we have a lovely lady currently known as Bunny (this may change.. not sure if its 'her'). She came by this name by posing as the Easter Bunny. Her dress is actually handmade by my mum from a design I created.

Here is a great group shot of the girls on Easter Sunday. The basket is polymer clay and features tiny little butterflies. It was made by my good friend Coltpixy and as you can see, perfect for 1:6th scale.

A few of the girls need a few tweaks, but all will eventually be listed for sale. If you are interested in any of them just drop me a note.